


What If

by Sithis10756



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-10-07 21:10:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10369485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sithis10756/pseuds/Sithis10756
Summary: What if Sakura was half Uchiha? What would Sasuke do?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Was a Oneshot; now it's not.

"What do you mean I'm adopted!?" Sakura exclaimed as she stood up from the couch. Her parents looked at each other and tried to calm her down.

"Sweetie, we were good friends to your father and when he died we took you in." Her mother explained quietly. "We knew that we had to tell you someday, but not this soon."

Sakura had remained silent as her mother talked. She knew that they only told her because something had happened. She didn't know what, but it couldn't be good. Taking a deep breath, she let her anger melt away.

"So what happened to make you tell me then?" Her mother got a mirror out from her purse and handed it to Sakura. Not needing a hint, she held it up and looked at her reflection.

Pink soft hair that reached her shoulders, full lips, delicate features, and white skin. Everything was normal, except her eyes. What was once vibrant emerald orbs was now black and red. Three tomes circled her pupil and screamed different.

"Uchiha…." Sakura gasped out. "I'm an Uchiha!"

"Not just an Uchiha, dear." He father stated. "You are only half Uchiha. The other half is unknown. No one knew who your mother was or where she came from. I hope that you can learn to accept this news and grow from it. But always remember, you are our daughter and we love you."

"I…I need some time to think." Saying that, she stood up and left the house. She was half Uchiha. Sasuke wasn't the only one to survive then. Not knowing what else to do, she sprinted towards the training field that her teammate went to. He was there, he HAD to be.

It took around ten minutes, but she had made it. Looking at the state of the field, she saw charred earth and stabbed targets, but no Sasuke.

"Damnit!" Sakura yelled as tears came out of her eyes. She needed his help more than ever and he wasn't even—

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice came from behind her. She didn't turn around just yet, she had to explain it to him first before he saw her eyes.

"Sasuke…." He raised an eyebrow at the lack of suffix. "I need your help with something." He stayed silent, waiting for her to finish.

"My parents had told me something today, something life changing." Taking a deep breath she slowly turned around with her eyes closed. "I'm adopted, Sasuke." She heard him scoff at her secret.

"So what? How am I supposed to help you with that?"

"Sasuke…..I'm adopted and I'm half Uchiha." Sakura opened her eyes and looked him straight in the face. She could see his shock, confusion, relief, and anger. "I don't know much, but my parents told me because my sharingan awakened. All I know it that my father was an Uchiha and when him and my mother died, my current parents took me in and raised me as their own."

She saw Sasuke clench his fist and walk away. Tears poured down her face as she screamed for him to stop and help her cope. He did stop, but not for long.

"I need some time for myself about this." He stated quietly, "Some time to come to terms that I'm not the last Uchiha." With that he walked away from her.

"But Sasuke," Sakura said to herself as she watched him disappear. "I need you to make sense of this…." She sat there crying into her hands for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura woke up the next day in her bedroom. She remembered crying herself to sleep at the training field after Sasuke left. Thinking nothing of it, she got up and get ready for the day. Her parents were downstairs fixing breakfast when she came into the kitchen.

"Hey Sweetie, how are you feeling today?" Her dad asked when she sat down. "Your Sensei found you at the training grounds yesterday and brought you home." Sakura just shrugged her shoulders and looked at her reflection in her spoon. Her new black and red pinwheel eyes looked back at her and started to slowly spin. She still hasn't figured out how to turn them off.

"I'm okay, I guess," she said after a while, "Still a bit muddled emotion wise, but otherwise fine."

"I'm sorry," her father whispered from behind his morning paper. His usual pale pink, sakura-shaped hair deflated slightly and Sakura couldn't help but feel bad for her mood. Standing up, she walked over to her father and gave him a tight hug.

"No matter who gave me life, you shall always be my father." She mumbled to him, her mother came up behind them and joined in. "You raised me with love and joy, taught me about life, and gave me everything that I needed. Right now, and forever, you two will always be my mother and father." Mebuki and Kizashi cried silently and hugged their daughter even tighter.

"Well, now that that elephant is out of the room," Mebuki sniffed as she pulled back with a smile, "who wants breakfast? I made my special waffles." Both Sakura and Kizashi shot up from their chairs and yelled 'me' over and over. Mebuki's waffles were to die for!

Later on, after breakfast, Sakura headed towards her team's meeting place. She made sure to keep her head down as she walked to the bridge, her sharingan eyes still visible to all around her. Team training wasn't something she was looking forward to, Sasuke will probably be ignoring her (family or not), Naruto will bug her about her eyes, and Kakashi….well, she didn't know about him. Her parents said they explained what had happened to her when he brought her home.

Looking up at her destination, she saw Sasuke standing there like nothing had ever happened. Sighing, she stood on the opposite side of the bridge and looked out at the calm surface of the water. Her eyes bugged the hell out of her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She knew that clans with the doujinshi had to channel chakra to their eyes to activate it, but she wasn't channeling any, was she? Closing her eyes, she focused within herself and found her flow of chakra. Slowly, she followed it and found that a small amount was indeed being sent to her eyes.

 _'Now I just need to cut off the chakra flow,'_ Sakura thought as began to imagine the small chakra stream going back to the rest and leaving her eyes alone. Once that was done, her eyelids fluttered open and bright emerald orbs looked back at her from the water's surface.

"YES! I did it!" She shouted in the air, not knowing that she startled Sasuke with her sudden out burst. "I finally cut the damn eyes off!"

"Sakura?" A slightly deep, but friendly voice asked from the beginning of the bridge, stopped her mini dance of joy. "Are you okay?"

"Naruto! I'm fine, just happy over something is all." Sakura said bashfully, getting caught dancing was kind of embarrassing. "How are you?" Naruto looked at her funny before saying he was fine. She couldn't blame him, after all, she's usually nasty to him and fawning over Sasuke. Sakura glanced at her newly discovered family member before looking back to Naruto. Her feeling for the raven haired boy waned when he left her alone on the training ground to cry.

Naruto, however, is always trying to encourage her to do her best. He's always nice and kind, and gives her a kick in the bum when she needs it.

 _'I guess I only ever saw him as something of an annoyance since he wasn't Sasuke.'_ She thought sadly, guilt for her actions towards him hitting her full force. _'I should fix that as soon as possible.'_

"Yo." Kakashi's voice rang out from behind them.

"You're LATE!" Naruto shouted as he pointed his finger at Kakashi, the usual excuse of the 'road of life' came up and soon training was started.

"Sakura, not you," Her sensei said as the boys went off to beat the blood out of each other. "We need to talk." Sakura walked slowly with him as he lead her into a clearing in the woods. "Now, your parents explained your situation to me and while it's not something common anymore, I can help you control it."

"Really?" Sakura asked in bewilderment, "So this is, like, special training?"

"Yes, exactly right." Kakashi answered, feeling bad when he saw his female student jumping around in joy. _'Have I been neglecting her that badly?'_ A sweatdrop formed on his head when Sakura tripped on a tree root.

"I'm okay!"

"Apparently I have…"


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks flew by in a blur for Sakura as her days was now filled with special training with Kakashi-Sensei, studying in the library, and getting rid of all of her old outfits. She had realized that not only was it always getting in the way when she started running, but the color stuck out like a bright Christmas light. Her closet now consisted of dark greens, blood red, black-blue, and black cargo pants that hung low on her hips and shirts with no sleeves and the Haruno symbol on the back. In tribute for her new found (and long lost) clan, she wore the Uchiha symbol on a necklace under her shirt.

Sakura still wasn't ready to let anyone beyond her Sensei and Sasuke who she really was. She was getting better at controlling it and could learn moves at a much faster pace, but with the more she read on her clan, the more she started to question things.

Her clan was mostly kept to their district in the Village and many Uchiha shinobi were wither ANBU or in the local police force. They didn't socialize with the other villagers or went out of their way to contribute to it. Instead, they just kept the civilians safe and kept a cold shoulder to everyone not in the clan. Two years before the massacre, however, they started to stay inside their district more and more. Hardly ever coming out unless it was for the academy or missions.

 _'It was almost like they were plotting something.'_ Sakura thought to herself as she randomly grabbed a book off the shelf behind her. _'and then two years later Itachi killed everyone but Sasuke. Our clan was HUGE though, there is no way this was a one man job.'_ She was confused even more when the village paper only shows the massacre for only a week before nothing else was printed. A slaughter like that would have gone on print for much longer if someone wasn't covering it up.

Looking down at the book she grabbed, she noticed that it was something only Chunin or higher had access to. A handwritten book on medical ninjutsu, poisons, salve, and detained notes on muscle augmentation. Sakura knew that only one person could have written this and she was no longer in the village.

Tsunade Senju was the greatest medical ninja there was in the world. To find her personal notebook in the genin section of the library was entirely unheard of. Looking around, there was no one near enough to see what she was doing, but just to be sure, she stretched her senses out and located a few ninja hidden nearby. Luckily, they were on the second floor and wouldn't see her slip the notebook into her weapons pouch the next second.

When she got home, she automatically ran to her room and locked the door and windows shut. Closing her curtains, she walked towards her closet and opened it wide. There was a secret to her closet that only her and her parents knew about. At the wall in the closet near her bed if one walked towards it, instead of hitting plaster, they would find a small hallway. The angle it was placed at made it seem like it was a regular old wall instead of a hidden passage.

Walking around the sharp turns, she came into her old hide away. It had been furnished with a desk and chair, bookshelf, mini fridge, and a genjutsu window that showed her different scenes depending on her mood. Right now, it was a calm and soothing beach with waves and seagulls.

Smiling, she walked over to the desk and began to study the notebook, it was far more interesting than she gave it credit for. Not only was it Tsunade's notes and ideas, but it held her personality and random bits ranting of whatever had made her mad at the time. Her sharingan help her memorize the details better than her old study method did, and that gave her a boost of confidence that she never had before.

Giving an extra glance at the page she had been studying on, Sakura started to mold chakra into her hand that started to glow green and held it over a small cut that she had previously made on her arm. Ever so slowly it started to heal up and left behind nothing, not even a pink scar.

Groaning, Sakura held her aching head as Naruto and Sasuke went at each other once again over something stupid. She swore that this happened almost every hour and would have left if Kakashi-Sensei didn't ask her to keep an eye on them.

 _'Well, I could get them to stop, but I'm not sure if I want to cornered by Naruto's questions on my eyes.'_ Another quake was felt the boys slammed each other into the ground. _'…..Freak it.'_

"Hey Naruto!"

"Yea Sakura-Chan?" he asked as he dodged Sasuke's kunai throw.

"Come over here, I have something secret to tell you!" She knew that saying it was a secret would work as she watched Naruto grin and run over to the tree she was sitting under.

"What's the secret? Should we go somewhere private? Are you telling it to Teme as well? Wait does he already know what it is? Does Kakashi-Sensei? I'm hungry, can we eat yet? Sakura-" He was cut off when she pushed her hand over his mouth and told him to be quiet.

"Now, first of all, yes Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei already know. They found out about it early on and I didn't tell you yet because I was still getting used to it. Now are you ready to learn what it is?" He gave an energetic nod but kept quiet.

"Good, now, watch my eyes Naruto." I sent a some chakra into my eyes and I could feel them shift to the black and red pinwheels of the sharingan, they gave an almost lazy spin as Naruto stared wide eyed. Luckily my hand was still over his mouth or else I would have been bombarded with a million questions. "My dad was an Uchiha and gave me over to my adoptive parents when he died twelve years ago in an attack on the village. I don't know who my biological mom is, but it doesn't really matter to me right now. Kakashi-Sensei taught me how to control it and before you ask, yes, I'm related to Sasuke." Slowly I lift my hand from his mouth and was surprised when he gave me a serious look.

"So, your Teme's cousin or something?" He questioned, looking between me and Sasuke. "That's kinda cool, but who else knows? And isn't this dangerous for Sakura-Chan? After all, there are, like, a gillion people after Teme's eyes, what if they find out about you?" If she hadn't been watching Sasuke from her peripheral vision, she wouldn't have noticed him tense up from Naruto's question.

"Yes, it is dangerous, but I have nothing to worry about." Sakura reassured her teammates. "Only you two, Kakashi-Sensei, and my parents know about this. If anyone does find out, then I have protection from Sensei and some new moves that will knock them away."

Grinning with me, Naruto started to ask another question when Kakashi-Sensei appeared in a puff of smoke. Startled, his blonde head fell backwards and hit a rock that was right behind him. Sakura was about to yell at her Sensei for scaring Naruto when she noticed that his head was bleeding from the bump. Sighing, held her hand over it before anyone could ask what she was doing, and proceeded to heal it up with a scar.

"…..Sakura, who taught you to heal like that?" She heard Kakashi-Sensei ask as she made sure nothing else was wrong with Naruto's head.

"Who? What do you mean?" She asked, confused, "I learned it from reading a book, my sharingan made it easy to remember details even better than before. Applying the theory was even easier then the tree climbing exercise you gave us back in Wave." Silence was heard throughout the clearing as the boys just stared at her in disbelief. Finally, Kakashi-Sensei cleared his throat and put up a happy eye crinkle.

"Maa, maa~. Looks like we have a up and budding genius on our hands." she blushed under his compliment and shuffled her shoe against the ground. "I'll look for anatomy books and have you read those as well, it'll help you if you want to learn more about what medic-nins do."

"Thank you, Kakashi-Sensei, Thank you!" Sakura was so busy giving Kakashi a hug that she never noticed Sasuke glaring in their direction, a dark expression colored his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Jareth is just making an appearance. This is not a crossover.

The next day showed Sakura a whole new world she could immerse herself into. As he had promised, Kakashi brought her about five new books on anatomy and she proceeded to devour the knowledge held within. While she was reading, though, a voice echoed in her head, repeating over and over again.

 _'Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart.'_ The low dark voice pulled her back to Wave where those same words were whispered through the mist. Back then it had sent a shiver down her spine, now it gave her the urge to learn those points for her own gain. She knew that the Byakugan could see the points no problem, but luckily her Sharingan can help her memorize where they are.

Walking out into her own private training grounds, that her parents made for her last year on her birthday, Sakura proceeded to go through her daily stretches before her actual training began. Slowly, she goes through meditative Tai Chi to center her being and works her way to push ups, sit ups, squats, and running. Of course, seeing as how she was still a bit behind everyone else, all of the exercises was done while keeping herself on the side of a tree.

Sweat was pouring down her face and onto to the ground as she used her strength to do her sit ups. 100 was her main goal for the week, but so far she could only go up 56. Of course, running was her favorite part. The air as it passed by her face and flew her hair back into a wave that followed her along, just allowing her to forget about everything that has happened so far. Of course, all good things must come to end at some point, and unfortunately for Sakura, it came in the form of her cousin.

"Sakura."

She was so startled by his random appearance that the chakra she was channeling stopped and the ground met her face. Looking up, she gave him her best glare and, though he will not admit it, scared him a little.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" Sakura questioned irritably.

"I need you to come with me." She looked at him like he was dumb for minute before asking why she would go anywhere with him. "Look, just stop being annoying and follow me." Sighing, she got up off the ground and followed after him when he walked off.

Sakura knew where they were going after a few minutes, what ex-fangirl wouldn't when they stalked the same path for years after their Uchiha crush? Sasuke didn't say anything on the way to the compound and she didn't feel like breaking the silence just to hear him insult her some more.

As they got to the gates, she couldn't help but feel sad at the disuse and decay it had come to. No longer was it the shining gate that kept her four year old self out, now it was dark with peeled paint and splatters of blood here and there. The houses weren't any better since they all looked like a ghost town, she swore that she could see something moving every now and then.

"We're here." Sasuke's voice startled her out of her investigation of the compound, she almost tripped over her own feet. Looking in front of them, she saw a huge building that seemed to loom over their small forms. "This is the Uchiha Library that keeps all of our records and clan books. A lot has disappeared over the years, no thanks to the council, but whatever you want to know it's yours. After all, you're family."

Sakura couldn't describe the feelings that was threatening to pour out of her at that moment, but she knew that Sasuke wouldn't like it or even know how to handle it. Instead, she gave his shoulder a soft squeeze and headed inside to conduct her research. She felt, more than saw, him follow shortly behind.

* * *

 

They spent four hours inside that building and she only found some history lessons, birth/death certificates, newspaper articles, and a few clan books on jutsus (an hour was spent on that with her Sharingan on). The entire time was spent in silence as the two cousins just took comfort in each others presence.

It was nearing five in the afternoon when Sasuke's stomach gave a low growl, demanding for food. Giggling, Sakura looped her arm through his and pulled him outside despite his protests. She knew by now that Naruto would be at Ichiraku's and wanted to join him to see if his boost on their ramen was valid.

"Hey Sakura-Chan! Teme!" They heard the oddly legible words coming from Naruto's noodle stuffed mouth. "Wanna come eat with me?"

"Hn."

"Sure Naruto, let's eat."

Ordering miso and tomato ramen, the trio began the start of what would be many more dinners together. Naruto was on his sixth bowl when Kakashi-Sensei popped in to bug his students.

"I see my cute genin are enjoying their food." His visible eye giving away the smile he had. "I'm glad you're enjoying your food, but you three need to go and pack some supplies...at least for a week."

"We have a MISSION!" Naruto exclaimed, broth and noodles going everywhere as he slammed the bowl down. "YAHOO!"

"Naruto! Calm down!" Sakura said as she wiped away drops that flew on her face. "It's just a mission."

"Hn, Dobe."

"WHAT WAS THAT TEME!"

"You heard me, Dobe."

"WHY YOU-!"

"Naruto!"

"Hn."

"Sasuke!"

"Maa, maa~ looks like they're having fun."

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

Needless to say, the rest of their dinner sounded pretty much the same as that for the next ten minutes. Sakura was able to eventually convince the boys to go pack their bags and Kakashi-Sensei to be on time on penalty of her fist to his head. He backed away with a sweatdrop forming on his head, he could already feel the pain that will come to him soon.

The mission was simple enough, escort a client from the village to their home in the Villages Hidden in the Shadows. Depending on the route they took, it could take from either a week to one whole month. Camping in the woods for a week was fine with her, but a month with Naruto's snoring, Sasuke's sulking, and Kakashi's perverted giggling would drive her mad.

_'Well, not mad but at least a bit more insane.'_

_'You talking about me?'_ Inner Sakura asked as she popped out from the back of Sakura's mind. She had been absent for awhile now and her lack of presence was beginning to get to get to her.

_'No, just talking to myself.'_

_'So….you WERE talking about me, at least to me considering I AM you.'_

_'A split personality, while a part of me, is also separate. You are your own person, like an annoying sister._

_'Awww! You consider me your sister!'_

_'I said an annoying one.'_

_'Same difference.'_

Sighing, Sakura blocked out Inner's rant on how she was loved and glanced at their client. Long, wild pale-blonde hair that seemed to be as soft as feathers; pale healthy skin that one could only get by staying in the dark glowed in the moonlight; thin lips; a straight royal-like nose; a loose dark blue yukata that showed shadows moving in the background; and striking blue eyes that called out to her. Seeming mysterious with one pupil being larger than the other.

His name was Jareth and though he was more than capable of protecting himself, said by himself, he was a diplomat from his village and needed an escort. That didn't mean he could an ass to her teammates or Sensei though.

"So, Sakura, how are you this fine evening?" Jareth asked her in a deep soothing voice, his eyes giving her a gentle smile. "I hope you are fairing well enough in this cool air." Sakura didn't know why, but he was awfully nice to her every time she came into his view.

"Yes, I'm doing fine, great actually," she replied, feeling oddly comfortable being near him. "It feels great to out of the village, the last time didn't end so well."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well, I can't tell you much, at least not until the mission is declassified, but we met with some trouble on the way to our clients home. I wasn't of much help back then but I'm making an effort to get stronger."

"Sounds like you had a rough time, Precious."

"Precious?"

"Yes, don't you like it? Your eyes remind me of precious jewels that glimmer in the moonlight."

Blushing, Sakura was about to give a reply when Sasuke appeared by her side. Before she could ask what he wanted, he told her that Kakashi-Sensei wanted to talk to her about something. She gave a nod and headed up by their Sensei, but not before she saw him give Jareth a death glare.

"What's up Sensei?" She asked once she reached where Kakashi was running up on the tree road they took. "You need something?"

"Nothing much, Sakura-Chan, I'm just wondering about how much you know of the Village Hidden in the Shadows."

"Um, nothing much," She started, getting into her knowledge mode. "As a matter of fact, not much is known at all about that village. They are much more secretive than the Bloody Mist and not many have even seen a shinobi from there without having their life cut short.

I know that they can use shadows better than the Nara Clan and are unusually beautiful compared to normal people and shinobi. It's almost like they are something else all together."

Nodding his head, Kakashi looked back to their client and found him engaging in a conversation with Sasuke. At least, he's talking while Sasuke looks like he's about to burst a blood vessel.

"Very good Sakura, I'm glad I have at least one cute student who likes to learn more than jutsus. Sasuke only knows about our village's history and Naruto even less than that."

"Well, I have always loved to learn about the world outside our village. It always seemed so vast and mysterious to me as a small child. I was picked on a lot and the stories I heard about the different places helped me to escape from my reality."

"Maa~ Well, you have a lot better reality now that your a shinobi. The higher up in rank, the more placed you can see."

"Have you ever been to the Hidden Shadow Village, Sensei?" Sakura saw a dark flash cross his face, and felt a shiver run down her spine. Very rarely did she ever see that look on her Sensei's face.

"Once. It's not something I would like to think back on." Nodding her head in response, Sakura continued their trek next to him in silence for the rest of the night before they all stopped to rest. The Shadow Village and her Sensei's expression in her thoughts for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

The Hidden Shadow Village seemed to be impossible to find. They had been wandering around for nearly three weeks and the genin on the team had trouble hiding their frustration. Naruto had taken to moaning about any little thing that caught his eye, mainly their client; Sasuke increased his glaring and dark muttering, annoying the daylights out of Sakura and Kakashi. Jareth seemed to love this and took to bothering him every spare second he had. Sakura didn't really show her frustration, instead she talked with Inner about why they haven't arrived yet.

_'We should have been there by now! Kakashi-Sensei said that we took the fastest route.'_

_**'Yea, but remember, he said he was only there once, probably from when he was in ANBU.'** _

_'ANBU? Why do you think he was in ANBU?'_

_**'Well, you may not recall this but once when the team was in battle his sleeve got cut. We saw his tattoo then.'** _

_'Then why do you know about it and I don't? I'm pretty sure I would remember something like that!'_

_**'Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. Oh poor little Sakura. Sad forgetting Saku-'** _

_'INNER! Don't patronize me.'_

_**'...fine. Take away what little fun I have, why don't ya.'** _

_'Inner!'_

_**'(sigh) Listen, being a split personality I have domain over our mind, at least when you're in control of our body. Seeing as how I have control I can recall thing more easily than you, that means even things we see in passing. Our brain registers only the important things that is relevant in our life. So that is what you can recall. I have full access to everything and the small details that you miss, I can find.'** _

_'Oh, well that's cool. I need to visit you again and try it out. But, can we block out our fangirl days? Kind of don't need those reminders now that we're cousins with Sasuke.'_

_**'Now? Girl, we've always been cousins even if no one knew about the blood tie. I shutter to think about our old dream of becoming his wife. Ugh, incest much? Our kids might have been deformed.'** _

_'Once again, let's block the memories.'_

_**'Can't, it might have important information for the future.'** _

_'Inner, PLEASE!'_

_**'Look, I'll go through all of them and get rid of the ones that are irrelevant to the current us, ok?'** _

_'Yes. Thank you.'_

"Sakura? Are you alright, Precious?" Jareth's smooth voice asked as he came up behind her.

"Fine!" She squeaked, her face close to his as she turned around. "Just a little lost in thought, is all."

"Is that right. Now what could have your pretty little head in the clouds?" His slender fingers gripped some of her hair and brought the long strands in for a soft kiss. Blushing, Sakura backed away a few steps and replied.

"W-well, um, just c-curious as to why we haven't reached the v-village yet." Her frustration at not finding it yet coming back to the front of her mind. "I'm sure that there's some sort of puzzle to reach the gates."

"Right you are, Precious. My Village has always been secretive of the knowledge we possess. In order to keep it a secret, a Labyrinth was created to protect it from our enemies. Puzzles and creatures unknown to most inhabit the Labyrinth and tries to stop those who travel it. Of course, there is a way that only those of the village know. A safe way."

"A safe way? Then why haven't you showed us this safe way, you bastard!?" Naruto shouted from behind them, pissed that they could have been there a lot sooner. "We've been walking around trying to find this place for weeks! I'm tired and out of RAMEN!"

"Because Nibble-"

"Naruto."

"Yes, there is a law that states that any outsider must find their own way in through the Labyrinth to the center where the Village stands."

"What! But that's nuts!"

"The Dobe is right." Sasuke stated, joining the conversation. "We're here to escort you back to your village, not run the maze that surrounds it. Just show us the stupid safe way and we'll leave as soon as you get there."

"Oh, I think not."

"And why is that?" Sasuke demanded, angered at his bored tone of voice. Jareth just looked at him like he was stupid.

"It's like I said before, Suzy-"

"Sasuke."

"Whatever. It's a law in my Village," Jareth said, "And one from my village does not break such a law."

"He's right, Sasuke." Kakashi-Sensei stated, popping up from the side, scaring his genin. "I had a mission to the Shadow Village a long time ago, and even then I had to run the Labyrinth with my team."

"Well, if you already ran the thing, then why haven't we made it inside yet?" Naruto questioned.

"Because," Kakashi suddenly looked dark, serious, and scary. The clouds began to rumble and grow a greyish black color while he stared down at the team. "I forgot." A sweatdrop formed on his forehead as the boys face planted to the ground. Looking around, he noticed that Sakura was no longer in view, which is hard to do considering how bright pink her hair is. "Sakura! Can you hear me?"

"Over here Kakashi-Sensei!" came her muffled call from behind a mountain wall. "There's a visual illusion to the wall, Sensei!" Her face popped out from what looked like out of nowhere.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! SAKURA-CHAN'S FLOATING GHOST HEAD!" Naruto screamed and pointed at her now amused face, even Sasuke looked a little green. Slowly, she walked into full view and showed them that she was fine.

"It's an illusion, Naruto. See, with the way it's angled makes it look like a solid wall, but in actuality," She walked back behind the stone and disappeared again. "It's a hidden passage."

"Nicely done, Precious! I knew you would figure it out." Jareth praised, clapping his hands to show how proud he was of her. "We passed by at least three of them already and quite frankly, I'm disappointed that your teammates didn't figure out that there was a trick to it sooner."

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Now, now, Naruto. No beating up the client." Kakashi said as he held him back. "Let's go ahead and finish up this mission, shall we?"

"Whatever."

"Hn."

Sakura just sighed, knowing that it just a whole lot harder to put up with the boys. She looked at Jareth to see him stare back at her. Blushing, she ushered everyone through the opening and into the Labyrinth.


	6. Chapter 6

They've been walking in the Labyrinth for about two hours so far and Kakashi has been trying his best to keep Naruto from going berserk. Not that it was helping much, of course, as he kept whining about having no ramen. Jareth seemed to enjoy his discomfort, though, and egging Sasuke on was just making him smirk more. Kakashi seemed to be keeping his distance from the client for whatever reason; and Sakura? Well, she was just trying to figure out the latest puzzle.

The path they chose to follow led them to a maze of walls and while it would have been easy to just jump and run along the top, something seemed to stop them from doing so. Naruto didn't want to stop trying to get up there but one could only watch him slip and fall so many time before it stopped being funny.

"Jareth, could you tell me something?" Sakura asked him before he could make a snide comment to her teammates again.

"Anything you wish, Precious." He walked closer to her and gave her a smile that could melt the polar caps. "What is it you desire to know?"

"This part of the Labyrinth is more like a maze, right?" she questioned, staring at the wall so she wouldn't blush again. For some reason it made her cousin a lot more dark and brooding then before. "but I've been mentally marking a map in my head as we walk and nothing is matching up. So, please tell me if I'm right; the walls are moving, are they not?" Jareth looks at her with an expression of utmost triumph, like he was the cat that got the canary.

"Very good, Precious!" Her team stopped what they were doing and zoned in on the conversation. "I knew you would figure it out, not like those teammates of your. Too busy being completely incompetent to lend a hand to you and your efforts."

"HEY!"

"Calm down, Naruto, he is right." Kakashi stated," You wouldn't stop trying to climb the walls and Sasuke was too busy internally laughing at you. Neither of you stopped to help her."

"That means you as well, Kakashi-Sensei." Sasuke sneered at him in an attempt to save face.

"Now, now, Sasuke, that's not true. I knew Sakura was the smartest out of you three and could figure it out on her own. This is a type of tactics training that can be used on a mission."

"Uhuh, like we're gonna believe that."

"The Dobe's right for once, you just wanted to read that smutty book of yours."

"So mean to your Sensei."

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura voiced as soon as the boy's conversation lulled. "Do you have anything that could be used to make a trail? I only brought so much wire and a forgotten tube of clear lip gloss."

"You use lip gloss?" Jareth asked with a sudden interest.

"I used to, before I decided to become a stronger ninja." She replied, embarrassed at how she used to be. "Lip gloss is unnecessary on any mission but seductions."

"Such a pity." he muttered under his breath, disappointment on his noble features. "I suppose that I couldn't convince you to wear some for just this mission, could I?"

"Sorry, it's empty anyways."

"Sakura, we need to get moving." Sasuke said suddenly, getting in between Sakura and Jareth. "Kakashi-Sensei said this was a type of training, remember?"

"I did, didn't I?" Kakashi gave an eye crinkle and handed over a red marker. "Here you go, Sakura, you can use this, correct?" Thanking him, Sakura proceeded to mark arrows on the stone bricks every time they made a turn. Hoping that this way they wouldn't be walking in circles, at least until they doubled back from a dead end to find the arrow turned another way.

"Walking on the fraggedy walk-a-walka!" Turning her head to the small voice, she saw a little figure dunk into a hole beneath a brick. Sighing, she lead them back to the dead end only to find two doors with ugly faced knockers.

"Whoa, who carved these ugly things?" Naruto asked as he poked one on the nose.

"Hmmm, mmmmm-mmm mm mh."

"What the!?" He jumped back when the knocker started to move as if it was talking.

"WHAT?" The other one, with it's ring in it's ears yelled. "WHAT'D YOU SAY?"

"THEY'RE TALKING SAKURA-CHAN! TALKING!"

"Mmmmh mmmm hhmmm."

"I can't understand him, can you Sensei?" Sasuke looked at him like he was an idiot before he took the ring out of it's mouth.

"Ahh! Much better!" It said as it stretched it's mouth out. "I said it's no good talking to him, he's as deaf as a post."

"WHAT?"

"Stop yelling!"

"NO GOOD," it yelled back, "CAN'T HEAR YOU."

"Excuse me, sir," Sakura said, getting it's attention, "Where do these doors lead?"

"Beats me, I'm just the knocker!" It stated, laughing at it's own joke with Naruto.

"How do we get through?" Sasuke questioned, ready for the mission to be over and done with.

"Knock and the door shall open~" It gave a cheesy grin while it watched the ring in his hand wearily.

"Well then, let's go through the door with the ring in it's ears." Sakura decided as she took the ring from her cousin.

"Why?"

"Because, Sasuke, it must have been torture for him to listen to this fellow for a long time. Like listening to Naruto after he's had a ton of sugar." Growing even paler at the remind of a hyper Naruto, he took the ring back and shoved it in the deaf one's mouth. Ignoring the angry mumbling, he knocked on the door with it and shoved it wide open.

A loud 'thank you' could be heard from the other knocker as they walked through to the rest of the Labyrinth.


	7. Chapter 7

The pathway from the doors led them into a dark cavern with glowing moss lighting the way every few yards. Sakura was in front of the group as they made their way down the path with the boys in between her and their client. Kakashi giggled into his hand as he read his smut behind everyone, causing Sakura to aim a stone at his head. Unfortunately, Naruto’s head got in the way before it could reach it’s target.

 

“OW! Teme!, Did you hit me with something?!” Naruto yelled as he got close to Sasuke’s face, an angry knot forming on his forehead in seconds.

 

“Naruto, calm down, it was probably an accident.” Sakura stated, not wanting to admit that it was her fault to begin with. A glowing green hand softly touched his head and healed away the bump. Jareth appeared next to her almost instantly and took her hand into his. His mysterious eyes watching the green Chakra as it slowly faded from view on her skin. Sakura tugged on her hand but he didn’t relent on his grip. “Um, Jareth? Can I have my hand back?”

 

“Ah, of course, Precious, pardon my rude behavior.” He replied with a sincere looking smile. “I’m just curious about that glow. We don’t have any medic-nins in my village. We don’t get hurt like….others seem prone to.” He glanced back at Naruto when he said this, a clear mocking smirk on his face. Naruto glared at him and shook his fist at the amused client. Sasuke just inched closer to his cousin while the two were distracted and pushed her slightly to start walking again.

 

Sighing, she did just that and led them down the pathway once more. This time watching as the walls grew taller, smoother, and seemed to glisten in the dim light. Not much was said as they walked into a chamber of some sorts with flickering torches braced on the walls. A giant statue graced the far end of the room and held a door in between it’s legs. The face was completely human looking and held wings in it’s back, but everything else was that of a lion.

 

“Well, crap.”

 

Startled, the genin of the group looked back at their sensei with shock. They had never hear him cuss before and it was quite the moment for them. His face, however, a devoid of humor as he stared at the statue with a disturbed look.

 

“What’s wrong, Kakashi-Sensei?” Naruto asked, then held up a hand beside his face as though he was telling a secret. “Do you have to go poop?”

 

Sweat dropping, Kakashi just stared at him for a bit before facing the statue once more. “No, Naruto, I do not have to go poop.” Sasuke smirked at him in laughter while Sakura giggled lightly. Jareth, however had a disgusted look on him proud face, wondering how Naruto could be so stupid. “I’ve been to this part before, or at least one similar to it. This is the Sphinx’s Room.”

 

The word Sphinx brought a load of information to Sakura’s mind, thanks to Inner of course, and scanned through it to the most important facts. “Sphinx, like the giant sculptures that appear in the Land of the Sun.”

 

“Land of the Sun?” Sasuke muttered, turning his eyes to the statue with his Sharingan on.

 

“Yes, it is a far away land that not many go to, as it is a scared land to natives of the Land of Sand.” Sakura explained to her team, knowing neither Sasuke or Naruto would know of it. “It is said that that’s where the people of Sand originated. There are many myths they tell about that land. The Sphinx is in one such myth that seems to be true. Right Kakashi-Sensei?” He gave her a grave nod and motioned for her to continue with her explanation. “The most common myth about the Sphinx is that they guard something behind the door and that in order to gain access, one must answer whatever question they give you.”

 

“Very good, Precious! I knew I could count on you through this little adventure.” Jareth beamed and started to pet her hair like she was a cat. Embarrassed, Sakura could only shyly let him do so until Sasuke pushed his way between them. “Quite a student you have there, Snappy.”

 

“It’s Kakashi.”

 

“Yes. Of course, she could do SO much better if she lived in the Shadow Village. So much potential she has.” Kakashi gave him a standard eye crinkle that was obviously fake.

 

“Maybe, but Sakura loves it at her HOME.” Stressing the last word, he pulled her into a side hug with Sasuke following on her other side. Still giving out the fake eye smile, Kakashi looked toward the Sphinx and called out one question. “What is the riddle?”

 

Golden eyes snapped open and caused all but the two adults to jump in shock. It began to gain some color to it’s texture and moved it’s head closer to the group. It’s narrowed eyes looking them over before returning to it’s place, no one noticing when Jareth gave it a slight nod when it saw him.

 

“In order to pass through the gate,” It rumbled out in an elegant female voice, “One must answer the Sphinx or deal with fate. One answer you must give, make it correct and you shall live. If the answer is not the one, just know that you are done. Now listen well as the riddle is said, one misheard word could lead to death.”

 

Kakashi and Sasuke quickly shoved their hands over Naruto’s mouth before he could complain about the way the Sphinx spoke and waited with baited breaths for the riddle.

 

“Two sisters are we, one is dark and one is fair. In twin towers dwelling we're quite the pair; One from land and one from sea. Tell us truly, who are we?”

 

Silence feel upon the group as they tried to figure it out. It could have been a million things and yet it could only be one pair of items or people. Sasuke went into full brooding pose and thought about the answer; Kakashi looked through his Icha Icha book as though it held all the answers in the world; while Sakura had Inner go through all their knowledge at what seemed to be the speed if light. No one but Jareth saw Naruto walk up to the Sphinx and give it a grin.

 

“Salt and Pepper!”

 

Kakashi and Sasuke gasped in horror as they watched the Sphinx lower it’s head towards Naruto. It’s mouth gave him a mile long grin that revealed rows of sharp teeth waiting to tear into flesh.

 

“The answer is --”

 

(To Be Continued)


End file.
